American Gods Show Their Love for Hamsters, and Other Local Music News

​Local metal band American Gods has a thing for hamsters. That's right--hamsters. The group has a song called "Hamster Stomp" on their current album, Ec-10, but don't think the group is serious about crushing those cute little furry animals--a bad-arse pic of one of the rodents graces the album cover. Their indie label they released the album on is even called Space Hamster. Perhaps the group prefers to get them as gifts from fans, too?

The disc is currently being sold on www.amazon.com for only $5.99 and includes eight songs, and the band will be showcasing their stuff this month on Memorial Day weekend when they head up north to Flagstaff to play one of the town's largest venues, the Orpheum Theater, on Saturday, May 29 at 8 p.m. Sneak a peek at their performance of the song "Sever," which is on the album, below, and read on for more local music news.

The guys of Blessthefall are quite the jetsetters. Besides already securing a European tour this fall (which should be blessed....get it?!) that spans Russia, France and Austria, the band just announced they'll also be playing South America with August Burns Red, their European tour mates. They'll hit Columbia, Brazil, Chile and more. Their passports should be quite interesting to look at once they're back in the States.

Speaking of traveling abroad, The Love Me Nots just got back from a European tour. The band played France and Spain and are already back on the local grind, having a show at Yucca Tap Room this past weekend. The garage rock group is still selling limited edition copies of their vinyl disc, Upside Down Inside Out, which are available for $10 here.

One of Phoenix's biggest heartthrobs, The Maine singer John O'Callaghan, is doing a video question-and-answer session, and he'll be answering your very own questions. So now you can finally ask him if he prefers boxers or briefs (or nothing!), ketchup or mustard and pugs or bulldogs. The group, who was recently featured by Rolling Stone as one of "Bamboozle 2010's Five Breakout Bands to Watch," embark on their first headlining tour this summer, which ends in Mesa Friday, August 27 at the Nile Theatre. The band Tweeted their pre-sale bundles for tickets to their shows are going fast, so if you happen to want to order one, better do it soon here. The package includes the band's album, Black and White, a tour poster, a laminate, a general admission ticket and a front-of-the-line pass.